Christian Bale didn’t win an Oscar for his unflattering portrayal of Vice President Dick Cheney in Adam McKay’s 2018 film Vice, but he did earn a Golden Globe and plenty of accolades — including fiery condemnation from Fox News for his Globes acceptance speech. Even so, the British actor is already well-known for his dedication to the craft, which can next be seen in Ford v Ferrari with Matt Damon. While the two were promoting the new film, though, the subject of Cheney’s “appreciation” for Bale’s Vice performance came up.

“Strangely enough it was through my son’s school, one of the moms was at a party that [Cheney] was at, and she said, ‘Oh, I’m going to be seeing Christian tomorrow, you have anything to say to him?'” Bale, 45, recounted to us.

So, what did the former vice president think of Bale’s work in the film? As the actor continued, “he said, ‘Tell him he’s a dick.'” As lighthearted and Ellen DeGeneres-like as it would be to assume Cheney was using a double entendre to be funny, however, it seems he was being absolutely serious. “I went, ‘Oh, at least he’s got a sense of humor,” Bale said. “And she said, ‘No, there was no humor to it whatsoever.'”